Ouch

A preview to what is to come!

Alright so skating. Oh boy. We (the girls, Mitch, Patrick, Monica and I went skating at Hampton Court Palace on Sunday. Let me start this story from the beginning. Monica came early Sunday morning, like I was still sleeping when she called from Clapham Junction. I told her I would be up so calling was okay, but not when she called. I still had 20 minutes on the alarm. So I got up, showered, and by the time I was ready to go grocery shopping, because I had nothing in the house, she is at the Bridge House. We went shopping together. We then came back to the good old Bridge House and I made breakfast (scrambled eggs, toast and tea), and we went skating.

Now Mitch said that he could out skate me... I laughed. I've been skating since I was 7 years old, and he only played for 5 years. I was like a little kid in a candy store on the way to Hampton Court Palace... I was so excited and I couldn't stop smiling. I had on my Avs jersey, my FbA hat, jeans and a sweater. Didn't need the sweater. Oh well. So we get there, and the outdoor rink is right in front of the palace. So coool! We went through our entrance of course, walked past the maze and to the rink. We got there with like 10 minutes until our ice time. Um, the zamboni was on when we got there, and of course I started singing, "I wanna drive the zamboni!" As I'm singing, the zamboni hit the boards... they needed a new zamboni driver, this one couldn't drive. So we got our skates, and of course I advised everyone on the sizes, and of course they didn't have my size. I said 5 and a half, which is what I am, a half of size up, and I'd be wearing senior skates, and be paying 200 more dollars for them. They didn't have half sizes, so I got a six. They fit, a little big, but no big deal. I put them on, they didn't tie, just three straps, fixed my hat, and went onto the ice.

I went around a few times, no problem. It felt awesome to be on the ice! I did my whole Maximus thing, I put my hand on the ice, and then wipe my hands a few times. I don't sniff my hand, like he sniffs the dirt, I find no reason to do that, but I did my thing. I caught up with Monica and the other girls, and then went off again. I was skating by myself... all smiles, and I hit the ice. I fell. HARD! Of course, I got up before most people realized I had fallen, but I still fell. I went over to the boards to see why, I was thinking that maybe something was on my skates, and yes there was. It's called a toepick. My blades were figure skater blades! WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I'm not a figure skater, I need real hockey blades! After some experimenting (which really hurt) every time I took a stride, I went ouch. Hockey skates do not have toepicks, and the way I skate, I drag my toe when I stride, and yep I either fell or came very close to falling. NOT FUN!

No one else fell because they didn't know any better. Mitch and Patrick didn't have toepicks. Mitch almost did, but he got his skates bigger than usual just to avoid the toepicks. I was so mad! I had to skate like a beginner so I wouldn't fall, but still I almost fell a few times just skating with Monica. No offense Monica when you read this, but I like speed! That's why I play hockey, and everyone's pace was too slow for me. Of course every time I did almost fall I had to announce it to everyone. I would yell TOEPICK! Just like that movie with Jessica Biel, and the plot is a former hockey player is now a figure skater but he can't skate for a half the movie because of the toe pick, and every time he falls, Jessica Biel's character skates up to him and says, "Toepick." Yep that was me. Though I believe that guy wore a DeadWing jersey, which you would never catch me dead in!

So yeah I couldn't skate. The ice wasn't bad, I mean I fell in every puddle at least once, it was warm out so the ice was frozen, but somewhat melting. England is killing my love for hockey. I swear, I'm going back to the States and going right to a hockey rink! I did have fun, I mean I was on the ice. But I fell so many times, and it hurt. I have huge bruises on my elbows, knees and um I fell face first, and I did this at least 5 times, so yeah I'm just in pain. The last time it was my right skate that made me fall and I twisted and landed on my right shoulder. That one hurt. The other times, it was my left foot, because I drag that one... I've never really thought about how I skate. I ended up skating backwards for like 20 minutes because that was safe, but with so many people who can't skate it's not good to go backwards. Especially when I was going backwards and this guy grabbed my arm because he was falling. Great, just bring me down with you. I planted my feet on the ice though, bent my knees and prayed to the hockey gods. I kept him and me on our feet! Stupid idiot though, I would never try and grab onto someone if I was falling, just take the fall.

I doubt I will try another one of these rinks, unless I go there and demand to see the skates. It was funny cause the others were complaining that their feet hurt, and I didn't even notice it for awhile because I'm so use to it. That's kinda sad actually.

So it was a good day but it also was horrible. After we skated Monica and I walked around Hampton Court Palace, well the outside. It was beautiful, but I was cold and limping so we only were there for like an hour and then we walked home.

Hey, without injuries life isn't as exciting. I'll just keep telling myself that until all my bruises go away.

Oh P.S... big anniversary for me... between the days of 2 Dec- 5 Dec... it marks my 11th year of being an Avalanche fan! 11 years ago Patrick Roy left the Montreal Canadians, joined the Avalanche and I went with him. And I've never looked back.